Saturday 29 January 2022   10:00am

Rhythms of Place is a new series of expressive paintings that explores our connection to people through places, and to places through people. Familiar landmarks give the series its own sense of location and represent Bunbury, as a place of opportunity and contribution for four generations of the artist’s family since emigrating from Holland in 1953.

These “place-scapes” are built in layers, creating depth and texture, and embedding personal meaning. The use of layers and inclusion of old and new buildings, as well as natural landscape features, invites reflection on how we impact places, and what we leave behind.

Working from life and imagination the artist has approached this series with a sense of gratitude, curiosity and hope, and deep respect for the Wardandi Noongar people whose connection to this place is profound and enduring.

The images combine expressive marks and colour with drawn elements and more controlled application of paint. Elements of abstraction and ambiguity allow viewers to find their own connection with each piece.

All artworks for Rhythms of Place were completed between June 2021 and January 2022. They comprise acrylic, collage, ink pencil and other media on “cradled” wooden panels. The artist has considered how the sides and backs of paintings interact with the image on the front, and used colour to integrate these surfaces with the layers of each image. This changes how they look from different angles while unframed. They are suitable for display either framed or unframed and the smaller panels can be self-standing on a shelf if this is preferred to hanging.

Colour is an important element in this series. The Rhythms of Place palette was designed specifically to be cohesive, reference the colours of the area, and invoke the sense of nostalgia we may find in old storybooks or faded colour photographs.